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1 Then Elisha said, Hear the word of the Lord; Thus says the Lord: As at this time tomorrow a measure of fine flour [shall be sold] for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gates of Samaria.
2 And the officer on whose hand the king rested answered Elisha and said, Behold, [if] the Lord would make floodgates in heaven, might this thing be? And Elisha said, Behold, you shall see with your eyes, but shall not eat thereof.
3 And there were four leprous men by the gate of the city; and one said to his neighbor, Why do we sit here until we die?
4 If we should say, Let us go into the city, then [there is] famine in the city, and we shall die there; and if we sit here, then we shall die. Now then come, and let us fall upon the camp of the Syrians: if they should take us alive, then we shall live; and if they should put us to death, then we shall [only] die.
5 And they rose up while it was yet night, to go into the camp of the Syrians; and they came into a part of the Syrian camp, and behold, there [was] no man there.
6 For the Lord had made the Syrian army to hear a sound of chariots, and a sound of horses, [even] the sound of a great army. And [each] man said to his fellow, Now has the king of Israel hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of Egypt, to come against us.
7 And they arose and fled while it was yet dark, and left their tents, and their horses, and their donkeys in the camp, as they were, and fled for their lives.
8 And these lepers entered a little way into the camp, and went into one tent, and ate and drank, and took silver and gold and clothing from there; then they came back and returned there, and entered into another tent, and took from there [also], and went and hid [the spoil].
9 And [one] man said to his neighbor, We are not doing [right]; this day is a day of glad tidings, and we hold our peace, and are waiting till the morning light, and shall find mischief; now them come, and let us go into [the city], and report to the house of the king.
10 So they went and cried toward the gate of the city, and reported to them, saying, We went into the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there is not there a man, nor voice of man, only horses tied up and donkeys, and their tents as they were.
11 And the porters cried aloud, and reported to the house of the king inside.
12 And the king rose up by night, and said to his servants, I will now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry, and they have gone forth from the camp and hidden themselves in the field, saying, They will come out of the city, and we shall catch them alive, and go into the city.
13 And one of his servants answered and said, Let them now take five of the horses that were left, which were left here; behold, they are the number left to all the multitude of Israel; and we will send there and see.
14 So they took two horsemen. And the king of Israel sent after the king of Syria, saying, Go, and see.
15 And they went after them, even to the Jordan. And behold, all along the road was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their panic. And the messengers returned, and brought word to the king.
16 And the people went out, and plundered the camp of the Syrians. And a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord, and two measures of barley for a shekel.
17 And the king appointed the officer on whose hand the king leaned [to have charge] over the gate; and the people trampled on him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God [had] said, who spoke when the messenger came down to him.
18 So it came to pass as Elisha had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley [shall be sold] for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel; and it shall be as at this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria.
19 And the officer answered Elisha, and said, Behold, [if] the Lord makes floodgates in heaven, shall this thing be? And Elisha said, Behold, you shall see [it] with your eyes, but you shall not eat thereof.
20 And it was so; for the people trampled on him in the gate, and he died.
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